Samantha's Potions
A slightly more detailed description of Samantha's alchemical and potion-making work. It was usually safe to assume that, at any time, Samantha carried 3-5 of these potions with her in a small pouch usually assumed to carry mystical equipment. Normally what was carried inside was a small field kit for producing quick potions when she found the supplies to do so on hand (as Samantha rarely stayed in one place long enough to justify a true alchemical lab prior to joining the Thunder Force.). Each of these poisons, with rare exception, was held in a magically reinforced glass vial the size of a small test-tube cleaned after each use and stoppered with bee's wax. Potions - Deviant Universe Curative Potions - Samantha rarely bothered to name her curative potions while in the Deviant Universe, as she never intended them for sale. She only ever named one of these potions, "Idunn's Gift." This was more because of the potency of the potion than any particular wish to claim it as her own. The potion was a creation of her mother's that she retained the recipe to create so long as she could get apples from Idunn's tree of eternal youth in Tir na Nog. In general, her curatives worked in one of four ways, besides this singular potion: #Physical Healing - Samantha could produce potions of different grades, able ot restore health to a person who had been wounded. Though there were limits, and these potions couldn't regenerate limbs, they could allow the re-attachment of one only recently lost. #Anti-Plagues - Samantha was able to produce magical cures for diseases. Their effectiveness was generally strong against most strains, though "Super-strains" and magically active diseases were much more unpredictable in terms of effect and the potions were cost-prohibitive for dealing with epidemics. #Anti-Poisons - Samantha could produce potions very similar to those she used to deal with diseases. Again, particularly virulent poisons and magically active ones were sometimes harder to cure. #Anti-Curse - These potions were hit and miss at best. If the curse was laid by a more powerful spellcaster than Samantha, there was never a guarantee that they would work, though against lesser wizards and witches, she was usually effective. #"Idunn's Gift" - A miraculous potion, but one Samantha only ever carried a few of, it could bring a person back to life, but only so long as the last breath had not carried the soul away from its body (generally only within seconds of death). Her use of this on Dusk was only successful by forcing Dusk's soul to temporarily re-inhabit her body. Enhancing Potions - Samantha's "Enhancing Potions" generally fell into one of two very specific categories. The potions' purpose was either to render a person invisible and more skilled at hiding or lying to others, or its main purpose was to bolster one of the persons physical or mental attributes for the duration of the effect, be it their strength, their stamina, their agility, their intellect and creativity, their charisma or some similar trait. The effects were not drastic in terms of their benefits and added only a moderate 'boost' for about ten minutes at the outside. None of them had any sort of addictive quality to them. Magical Poisons - Samantha was able to create a variety of magical poisons, though she rarely carried the reagents to make them with any sort of regularity. Many of these were similar to the poisons listed below that she fashioned in the Asgard Eventide, but more potent. They were basically, as she put it, "Bottled Hexes." If she simply wanted to cause harm to a person's body, Samantha would pour a natural poison into their drink just as easily as she could a magical one. Magical poisons were curses meant to debilitate a person with some effect like temporary paralysis or blindness. Very few ever lasted more than five minutes in terms of effect, but they usually served their purpose well enough, given that they were frequently used as a set up for an attack. Potions - Asgard Eventide A selection of the various potions, amulets, charms and cure-alls that Samantha procured and created with alchemical reagents in the Asgard Eventide. While in that world, Samantha specialized primarily in the creation of poisons, which frequently took on the form of lesser hexes in liquified form. References to 'Stamina' are related to the use of the powers the gods of the Holy City of Asgard granted to those who lived in their city. Many of these various poisons and magical potions were sold by Samantha at a small Apothecary she ran known as "A Pinch of Sage." Pharmaceuticals: -"Godsbane Amulet" - An earth-smelling amulet that looks like a cedar-wood capsule with potpourri in it. When warn, it is meant to protect against curses, though it offers no cure -"Sickleback Poultice" - A poulstice said to help with the repair of minor scrapes, infections and bruises. Faster working than mundane medicines, but not as good as healing powers such as those granted by the houses of Heimdall and Sigyn. -"Wolfnettle Juice" - A small, yellow potion that will cause a person to feel as if their stamina was replenished and operate for longer than they normally could, though afterwards the user crashes, unable to use their powers for almost ten times the normal period with a feeling of weakness. -"Affadil Tea" - Arguably one of the most filthy tasting concoctions in all Asgard. An alternative to amulets, when taken in a daily regimen it is meant to protect against mental curses and psychological hexes. Samantha made use of this tea while in the Asgard Eventide for almost eight months to help lessen the frequency of her demonic hormone overloads. -"Gill Juice" - A mildly unpleasant tasting and oily, black drink that, when ingested, temporarily grants the drinker the ability to breathe under-water by creating magical gills along the sides of the throat. Its effects last for about an hour. Repeated use is not recommended, and the substance becomes somewhat toxic if taken for more than six hours at a time. Nausea and vomiting make it impossible to take for longer periods, the nausea persisting for about a week. Poisons: -"Tongue Rot" - An insidious poison that, once ingested or introduced to the bloodstream temporarily causes the victim to be unable to speak. It wears off after a minute or two, the effect having a sensation much like Novocain. -"Muddle Muck" - Once ingested or introduced to the blood stream, this poison attacks the mental faculties, causing debilitating hyperactivity. Damages and almost ruins concentration for about a half hour to an hour, with the perception that time is slowing down to a crawl. Memories are muddled afterwards. Can be purged more quickly through sweat. -"Sage's Bane" Once injested, this small dissolving tab creates a very brief narcotic effect, lasting no more than ten seconds of daze and fugue. More importantly, it attacks short-term memory, causing a fog to shroud the last minute of a person's memory so that they cannot remember clearly any events that transpired during that time. -"Wizard's Blight" This is a topical and blood-born poison that attacks a target's actively-used stamina. It will disrupt any current use of stamina or magical energy for no more than five seconds, forcing an ongoing effect to be started again, and it may reduce a person's stamina by an insignificant amount. Its main effect, however, is in disrupting a current use of stamina powered abilities for critical seconds. -"The Gift of Tongues" An ingested or blood-born poison that weakens the person's ability to speak properly. For the next hour, whatever they say is heard, garbled as Pig Latin. Metsubushi - "Smoke Bombs." These are small, fragile, egg-shaped grenades that, when they strike a surface with any force explode outward from internal pressure to release a 5 foot radius burst of powder. Samantha has added alchemical substances to three varieties with small effects to those who inhale them, the effects lasting no more than a minute: "Ebon Veil" Black Veil is a nasty thing. It causes a choking sensation that makes the victim cough, choke and gag painfully for a minute. They can still act, but the impediment is obvious though it causes no permanent damage. "Ivory Dust" Ivory doest acts by weakening one's inner fire. Chilling and numbing sensations plague the target, making them sluggish and about a quarter slower for the duration of the effects, fading quickly after. "Night Gas" Night Gas is a classic alchemical "Sleep Powder." It creates a natural, but shallow sleep that lasts for only a minute. If jostled or woken prematurely, they come to groggy and with a nasty headache. Special Substances: -Royal Glue and Solvent The magical equivalent of super-glue. It bonds two objects together within five seconds of their no longer moving. The bond is strong enough to endure any attempt to break them apart up to Strength level 1, so long as the objects themselves are strong enough to endure that strength. It will not dissolve in acid normally and requires the Royal Solvent to unbind it. Royal Solvent, other than being nauseating to ingest, has no effect on anything but dissolving Royal Glue. -Diluted Dragon's Blood- Vector - Non-injested, highly toxic When used to treat an item with the diluted solution of the otherwise caustic and toxic substance, it magically fire-proofs an object against most flame and heat damage (Within reason, e.g. high level fire magic is still high level fire magic).